Considering 2-Year Live aboard

[Salish Nomad]

Originally Posted by Spinner

People liveaboard year round in the Pacific NW and winter cruising can be great! We certainly don’t pull our boats out of the water for the winter. It’s not that cold, and most locals have good heaters. Avoid the winter winds that can kick up though ....

Yes, it’s warm and sunny in the summer, but boaters get out in the fall, winter, and spring too!

Yes indeed, we enjoy winter cruising. We stay warm, and dry on our relatively small tug.

[Bwester]

Hi Mitch, my wife and I just went through the same scenario you are talking about and I just wanted to say it’s doable. I would just say that the only difference is it sounds like you have more experience than we did. I have owned a whitewater kayak and a Hobie Cat, that was the extent of my boating knowledge. My Dad was in the Merchant Marines all his life and he would take me aboard when they would come into Norfolk and I would Ride down to Southport with him on the cargo ship. Guess that’s why I have a little salt in my veins.

About a year ago as I was pondering retirement we were trying to come up with an adventure plan for while we were still in good enough health to tackle. I always had rose colored glasses about living on a boat and traveling. I started planting the seeds with my wife by watching on the YouTube channel shows such as: Searching for C-Shells, Sailing Zatara, Gone with the Wynns. I followed that up with our first cruise after Christmas before Covid hit. To my surprise my wife went along and thought it would be a fun adventure for retirement. I spent the next 6 months researching all kinds of boats, developing a budget we could afford, and reading everything I could find on the internet. Long story short we sold our home, downsized to a 12 x 14 storage unit, bought a boat, moved from a Idaho to San Diego to live on it full time as of July 27, 2020.

We bought a 1985 Kadey Krogen 42 ft which is the perfect size for our goals . There Are a lot of things I would have done different if I had knew then what I know now. But if you wait and wait for all the stars to align, you probably will have waited to Long.

We are in San Diego for next couple months. Send me a private message if you want to talk more or come down to see Amelia (KK 42) to get some idea of hoops you will need to jump through. Good luck. - Barry

[ScottC]

Hi Mitch,
"2-year live-aboard" may help you and your wife justify making the jump into a (temporary?) experiment. Just realize that it could easily take 2 years to get the boat just the way you want it in order to start fully enjoying it. From a financial perspective, for sure, you would need to own a used boat more than two years in order to justify the expense and hassle. For a new boat, many more than two years to justify the expense, hassle AND initial (steep) depreciation.

[Juggerknot]

Originally Posted by Mitch L

My wife and I are kicking around the idea of buying and living aboard a boat for a couple years - before we get to old. Me more than her. I have been away from boating for many years but grew up with boats, worked at a Marina during HS and college and know a bit about boats (such as you can always count on things to fix, boats depreciate and it is will be more expensive than you anticipate).

While we are currently on the West Coast we are primarily interested in cruising the East Coast from the West Indies to Maine. We don't care about speed and would rather trade that for range and efficiency. I'd say the odds of getting this done are about one in ten, but it's nice to dream.

I joined this forum to dig into the whole process a little deeper and figure out what I need to do to get this done.

Go for it, you only live once and, if things go south on you, you can always return to landlubbery! It probably would do well to do a couple bare boat charters on something approximate to your desired vessel and see if things go well or, the wife is calling the divorce attorney =) as soon as you cast off! In all seriousness, this life is short and if the sea runs in your veins, listen to her call and explore the feasibility.